Games scheduled for London in upcoming years
Major League Baseball intends to play regular-season games in London in 2023, 2024 and 2026. The New York Yankees swept two games against the Boston Red Sox at London’s Olympic Stadium in June 2019. The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs were scheduled to play there on June 13-14, 2020, but those games were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Cardinals and Cubs are the leading candidates to play in London next year.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and London mayor Sadiq Khan announced the formation of the MLB London Legacy Group on Monday that will include members from the Greater London Authority and Baseball Softball UK.
MLB plans to hold a Home Run Derby July 9 at London’s Crystal Palace Park.
Monday’s games
Yankees 1, Rangers 0: Nestor Cortes might be the least-heralded top starting pitcher in the major leagues. The New York Yankees lefthander was five outs from a no-hitter when he threw his 103rd pitch, and No. 9 hitter Eli White looped a single into short center field. Cortes, 27, a regular starter in the major leagues since only July 2021, rocked back twice slightly and grinned with disappointment and satisfaction.
“When the emotions and the adrenaline is rushing, everything feels great,” he said. “But now I feel like I got hit by a truck.”
Cortes, Clay Holmes and Aroldis Chapman combined on a 2-hitter, Anthony Rizzo doubled in a run in the eighth and the Yankees beat Texas for their sixth consecutive series win. Cortes is 1-1 with a 1.41 ERA, among the top five in the major leagues and a big reason New York is an ALbest 20-8. He has 42 strikeouts and 11 walks in 32 innings, holding hitters to a .177 average.
Orioles 6, Royals 1: Tyler Wells pitched six strong innings to earn his first victory of the season and host Baltimore Orioles used a six-run fifth inning to surge past Kansas City. Baltimore has won four of five for the first time this season and finished its homestand 6-4. Kansas City fell to a season-high eight games under .500. The game was a makeup of Saturday’s postponed game to cap a rain-altered series.
Reds 10, Brewers 5: Cincinnati placed infielder Mike Moustakas on the injured list without designation before defeating visiting Milwaukee, the latest player apparently to be forced out by COVID-19 issues on the last-place club. Moustakas became the 14th player on the Reds injured list. First baseman Joey Votto and second baseman Jonathan India are also out for COVID- 19- related reasons. Outfielder Tyler Naquin returned from the COVID-19 IL Saturday. Cincinnati opened a series against NL Centralleading Milwaukee with a major league-worst record of 523. Outfielder Ronnie Dawson was selected from Class AAA Louisville to replace Moustakas on the roster.
Athletics 2, Tigers 0: Paul Blackburn threw 6⅔ strong innings to improve to 4-0 as Oakland beat host Detroit to snap a season- high nine -game losing streak. Tony Kemp hit a solo home run in the third and Chad Pinder added an RBI single in the fourth.